Hackers Bid To Enslave London’s Santander Bank Foiled

Police have foiled a plot to steal millions of pounds after a gang allegedly took control of a bank’s computer remotely.

Scotland Yard described the cyber-attack on a Santander branch in Surrey Quays shopping centre, south-east London, as the most sophisticated case of its kind that police had encountered.

The hackers were hoping to use highly sensitive information displayed on the computer to access accounts and drain money from them, but the Hollywood-style cyber heist was foiled.

The men allegedly fitted a computer within the branch in Surrey Quays shopping centre, southeast London, with a “keyboard video mouse” (KVM).

The device, which can be purchased online for as little as £10, allowed them to transmit the contents of the computer’s desktop and take control of the machine remotely.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said it was not clear whether any money was taken, but Santander said “no money was ever at risk”.

Police added that detectives and bank officials had thwarted a “very significant and audacious cyber-enabled offence” that would have cost Santander millions of pounds.

Although it is not the first time police have seen the device used, a Met spokesman said it was the first time it had been used by “an organised criminal network”.

Det Insp Mark Raymond said: “This was a sophisticated plot that could have led to the loss of a very large amount of money from the bank, and is the most significant case of this kind that we have come across.

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